Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival returns this June

18th March 2022

Three races, over 7,000 runners and £350,000 raised for charity - on Sunday 5 October 2021, the Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival was a huge success that saw runners from 300 different towns and cities across the UK take part in the Plymouth Half, Plymouth 10k and Plymouth 5k, Plymouth’s only closed road running events.

Boosting the local economy with over £170,000 spent by runners, tourists and visitors, this running festival organised by Plymouth based company Redrok Events, helped breathe new life into the tourism and leisure industry. The festival helped promote a healthy and active lifestyle as well as showcasing the best Plymouth has to offer with all three races starting and finishing at the iconic Plymouth Hoe Promenade.

Following on from the success of 2021, the Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival will be returning on Sunday 19 June 2022, bigger and better than ever!

With a brand new headline sponsor, Lang, Town and Country, this year the festival will not only see the return of the Plymouth Half, Plymouth 10k and Plymouth 5k but also the DELT Shared Services Primary Schools Challenge and a wide range of improvements to the overall race experience.

Councillor Mark Deacon, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Culture, Leisure and Sport at Plymouth City Council, said: “The Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival is a hugely important event for the city. Not only does it give the local economy a much-needed boost and attract hundreds of visitors, it encourages residents to get active with races for people of all ages and abilities to take part in. It’s fantastic to see that the 2021 event was such a success despite the challenges of the pandemic, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger and better event this year.”

The DELT Shared Services Primary Schools Challenge will see over 60 local Primary and Special Education schools take part, this challenge allows students to do their own ‘Half Marathon’ challenge by completing a mile each week at their school and then having the opportunity to complete the final 1.1mile challenge on the Plymouth Hoe as part of the Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival.

The races will see the return of goodie bags for the Plymouth Half and Plymouth 10k and Water Stations, sponsored by Bright’s Solicitors, along both routes for 2022. The Festival has also partnered up with charity ‘Trees Not Tees’ allowing runners to now ‘Plant a Tree’ instead of receiving a Finishers T-shirt or make a donation to the charity when they sign up.

Suzi Cumberland, Race Director for Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival said: "We are very excited to be bringing the running community together again for 2022. We have been working hard on a number of improvements, both pre-race and race day, to enhance the athlete’s overall experience.

“Working collaboratively with our new partners, we look forward to the magic of race day in June with our loyal community of athletes, fundraisers, charities, volunteers, and key workers.”

The Britain’s Ocean City Festival will be returning on Sunday 19 June 2022, a festival to celebrate runners, the amazing local community and promote Plymouth nationally, showcasing the very best of what Plymouth has to offer to visitors. To find out more information or take part visit the Run Plymouth website.